A Glance back--A few more pics from the holiday--

A glance back at Christmas--

Christmas is my favorite holiday--along with Halloween and Thanksgiving, and New Year's...gee, seems I generally like most of holidays doesn't it?--Something about being festive and eating and drinking, yes definitely good drinks...whatever--I love Christmas because it is beautiful and magical and a time when we all try to be something extraordinary: good to others and joyful and filled with a sense of hope--not that we aren't good generally, or happy (not usually joyful, though, are we?), or hopeful, but something about Christmas nurtures kindnesses big and small and asks us to believe in things beyond us, and take joy in even the tiniest things--a moment, a smile from a stranger, the cap of snow on a fire hydrant, the smell of fir and pine--and then of course, there is the shopping, and the transformation of towns and cities into festive yuletide villages or jazzed-up cosmopolitan centers full of holiday sparkle--the tree lightings and great windows in department stores--One thing I have always wanted to do was spend Christmas in New york, a magical city any time of year--I will one day, but until then, my friend Marie B. sent me this narrated slideshow by the NY Times' wonderful Bill Cunningham--it is a real treat-- http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/12/27/fashion/20091227-street-feature/index.html#

Fascinating: Marcel Proust

Though I have by no means read a great deal of his work, or even a significant amount (just starting), I am nonetheless fascinated by Marcel Proust and the French society he lived in during the late 19th and early 20th century and "chronicled" in his celebrated writings--His name has also become attached to a famous set of questions, Called The proust Questionnaire--In Vanity Fair magazine (an essential read each month) a short version has appeared for years--The Questionnaire is fascinating; it asks one to reveal personal thoughts and observations, and is very revealing, even to one who takes it--I chronicled my own responses to the questionnaire in my journal--it definately makes you think-

-Here are a two links, one to the questionnaire, one about Proust: http://hoelder1in.org/Proust/fill_questionnaire.html (you don't have to post if you don't want to) and http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/proust.htm

Here are two REALLY COOL books I have acquired that YOU should look for, too:

The Proust Questionnaire By Carter/Jean-servat, published by Assouline, ISBN: 2843237065.

The World of proust as Seen by Paul Nadir edited by Anne-Marie Bernard, published by MIT Press, ISBN 0262025329.

Inspiring: Marcel Proust--

Hurry--Proust is at the door--

Please respect the copyright of this image--do not reproduce without permission.

The perfect Gift

My new book, coauthored with N. Kniel, is called Ribbon: The Art of Adornment, Gibbs Smith Publishers, ISBN 142360346x, available at Amazon.com or fine book retailers everywhere--it is a big, gorgeous book, and as you know, books make excellent gifts!

Two designs I created this year for my Christmas cards--Angels fighting over a star, and Marie Antoinette with "friends"-- Designs copyright 2008 TW

Music for the season--

Here are my listening/mood setting essentials for this season, and quite frankly, they should be yours, too:

-George Winston: Linus and Lucy: The Music of Vince Guaraldi
-George Winston: December (yep, do like george Winston, here)
-Vivaldi: Gloria--Magnificat and Dixit Dominus, Choir of King's College, Cambridge
-Various Artists: A Very Special Christmas, Vol 1
-G. Gabrielli and De rore: A Venetian christmas, Gabrielli Consort and players, P. McCreesh
-Various Artists: A Winter's Solstice, volumes 1-5, Windham Hill Records

A SMALL TREE--

I finally finished my tree--not the live one I envisioned, but a pencil tree with a bit of Santa, crystal snowflakes and rope, cool icicles, a little Chinoiserie, and a few icons from my collection--Happy Yuletide and Hannukah to all--

It's a start--

Welcome to the new site for my blog--yes, EVERYTHING--